Tag Archives: IP cameras

Adpro upgrade to IP

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Adpro

For many years now the Adpro has been the old workhorse in the CCTV monitoring market place. It was originally conceived to use the “new” ISDN technology that took off in the late 90’s. It’s success was phenomenal and it dominated the market place for 10 years or more. Its crown finally started to slip when competitors started bringing out IP security solutions that could both record and transmit pictures but most importantly transmit pictures over IP networks.

So is Adpro finished as a product?

Many would say yes, but in its defence it is very stable and very reliable. Why change?  The main reason is simple . ISDN is being phased out and Adpro have not come up with a competitively priced product that can compete with some of the newer players on the market. It may also be suggested that Adpro was so confident with its market share it took its eye off the ball and started to to try to penetrate the external PIR market instead of concentrating on its core product , transmission of CCTV images.

But all is not lost.

What many installers have overlooked in an effort to sell DVR’s that can include  integrated CCTV and IP cameras  but also transmit images, is that Adpro has always been capable of IP transmission. It’s just that when Adpro was the number 1 player , IP was not ready for it!  So we have hundreds if not thousands of  Adpro transmission units out there still chugging away and working on ISDN phone lines.

Upgrade

 We can upgrade the units still out there by simply fitting a suitable IP converter to the Adpro and then plugging this into a network. We then have a stable , reliable IP transmission path to the central stations who’s front end software can easily accept the new IP transmitted  signalling.

What does this mean to the customer?

Well the customer gets better quality transmission , he is also able to do away with expensive ISDN lines and most importantly the call charges. It is estimated that a site with average traffic to a central station on ISDN will cost at least £1000 per annum. The upgrade should be able to be done for much less than this , delivering savings in the very first year.

So why is this not happening more?

Its all about economics, why would an IP CCTV systems seller upgrade a legacy product that is going to make him very little money. Any salesman worth his salt would always try to pursued a customer that buying a brand new DVR with all the bells and whistles is the way forward. This may of course be true but there is definitely a case to be made for preserving the old Adpro technology and we are pleased to be able to inform you the end user that you actually have more choice than you thought.

Blogging site for security products

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Got something to say about security?

This site is the ultimate forum to share and answer all your questions, fears, experiences and new ideas about the latest security issues.

This is the place to be.

Whether you have a project you would like to discuss, asks others about particular experiences they have had with certain security products. Find out about CCTV installers, the best and worst companies or simply to find out about new innovations or ideas. This is the place to be.

Blogging.

This is the best way to let people know about things you want them to hear about with reference to the security market place.

Examples

1) The IP security market is estimated to increase by nearly 200% next year.

2) IP cameras will reach parity with regard to price with their equivalent analogue models within 18 months.

3) IP integrators could put traditional analogue installers in the shade within 5 years.

Predictions.

Some great predictions there but will they actually prove to be true, lets here the views of buyers, installers manufacturers and find out which way the market will really develop in the next few years

Please enter your thoughts.

Car dealer is spending 70K on security guards

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Cost savings. Are they realistic?

We have talked about integrating various systems together without actually giving any real examples so below is one that integrated CCTV came across late last year and the solutions we provided.

The scenario

A large car dealer is currently spending nearly £70k per annum on a manned security guard to look after their site 365 days a year. Although the guarding company is doing a fairly good job, a risk assessment has proved that in the case of a break- in the chance of him being in the right place at the right time is slim. Therefore the company in question has concluded that it needs to source a far more cost effective method to secure the site.

Where can the cables go?

The site is 30,000 square meters and has no real secure fencing, anyone can enter the site at will and they have millions of pounds worth of stock on show. Due to the lack of fencing there are no real cable routes and also no fixing points for sensors on the perimeter and the whole site is block paved and this leaves no opportunity to trench or put up many poles.

The solution… Integrated security!

We concluded that a radical solution was required. One that used cutting edge technology together with an effective visual and audible deterrent, We also need to effect a manned response to a genuine alarm situation but not scare off any genuine customers viewing cars up to a certain time in the evening.

To add to our problems as mentioned before there was very limited scope to fix poles and run cables so sensors and fixed beams had to be ruled out. There was only one realistic answer left and this was to use analytics to generate alarms.

Light levels

The light levels were good and we decided to recommend a mixture of IP, wireless and traditional analogue cameras together with analytics to get the ultimate system and bring it in within budget.

The cameras on the building are wired in a traditional way, coax back to a standard codec to produce the analytics, then onto a hybrid DVR that was connected via broadband to a remote monitoring station. The IP cameras on the perimeter are to be  fixed  onto just two poles and linked via a wireless IP transmitter back to the hybrid dvr.

Controlling alarms

Sitting in between this was a control panel used to process alarms, generate on site verbal deterrent and sounders designed to remove unauthorised intruders. If this failed then the system was designed to call out the manned response but only as a final measure again helping to keep on going costs to a minimum.

Analytics

The use of analytics to generate the alarms however was the key to this working. Only in very recent times have we been able to use them effectively outside and in limited lighting conditions. This type of alarm generation will soon supersede traditional sensor technology and can only get better and better as large cooperation’s begin to invest heavily in analytics.

Conclusion

In conclusion the recommendations mean the car dealer now has the opportunity to lower security costs and will start to see savings filter through after 18 months or so. He has a system that is future proofed for at least the next 5 years and beyond. He has eyes all over the site 24/7/365 and as well as better security he has also got a sales tool and a health and safety watchdog as well as a deterrent system. Quite a few benefits for a great deal less money.

Things to look out for in the coming weeks on this site

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Saving money on security guards

We look at a case study for a site that was spending over 70 thousand pounds a year on security guards. We discuss how this can be cut to a fraction of that cost by using  Analytics.

FLIR thermal imaging cameras.

We look into the new thermal imaging camera released by FLIR that is light and very cost efficeint  something we all thought would be impossible for a thermal imaging camera.

ANPR cameras. 

 How they work? and where they are being used today.We highlight some good and some bad points about them.

Biometrics.

We ask whether this technology is ever going to become as big within the security market place as it promised to be when it was first launched.

Adpro and IP.

Can Adpro ever get back to where they were in the CCTV transmission market place. It was not so long ago they were the only choice when transmitting CCTV images.

CCTV distributors.

We discuss whether CCTV distributors need to look at a different route to market now that IP cameras are so popular.

Emizon IP.

We talk about Emizon and what it means for IP intruder alarm monitoring.

Raytec.

This revolutionary new lighting technology has turned a few heads but will it replace all the old halogen lighting systems out there?

NSI.

Does the security industry need this regulator and how will IP camera systems impact  on this inspectorate?

IP CCTV

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IP CCTV.

It’s the buzz word currently in the CCTV industry. Everyone is talking about it but why?

It’s getting cheaper.

Yes the main thing is it is becoming affordable now and can certainly be considered for most applications involving integrated security.

Integrated CCTV.

Again a new buzz word. This is because most systems installed within the next 2-5 years will effectively be a mixture of analogue and IP cameras the reason behind this is because most customers out there will want to upgrade to IP but still have to include their legacy equipment wherever practical to give them a cost effective security solution.

What is better IP or analogue?

That actually does not matter . The move is slowly but surely moving to IP camera solutions because everything else out their is using IP and needs Internet connectivity to function in today’s market place.

Conclusion.

So we wont stop the march towards IP cameras and integrated CCTV systems very soon all security including access control and intruder alarms will cease to function using the old traditional ways. The future is here today!